Addax Petroleum Completes IPO

On February 16, 2006, Addax Petroleum Corporation completed its initial public offering of 21 million common shares at a price of $19.50 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $409,500,000, and its common shares were listed and posted for trading on the the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AXC. On February 24, 2006, Addax Petroleum completed the exercise of an over-allotment option for additional aggregate gross proceeds of $40,950,000. In total, Addax Petroleum issued 23,100,000 common shares for aggregate gross proceeds of $450,450,000.

Addax Petroleum is an international oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Africa and the Middle East. It is the largest independent oil producer in Nigeria and has increased its crude oil production from an average of 8,800 barrels per day for 1998 to an average of approximately 74,450 barrels per day for October 2005.

RBC Capital Markets and Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. acted as joint bookrunners and lead underwriters of the offering, and Scotia Capital Inc. acted as co-lead manager, with a syndicate that included CIBC World Markets Inc., TD Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation, FirstEnergy Capital Corp. and Peters & Co. Limited.

Addax Petroleum was represented in Canada by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP with a team that included John Turner, Richard Peters, Rod Ferguson, Diana Horsman Nakka and Jason Mudge, and in the US by Martin Glass of White & Case LLP.

The underwriters were represented in Canada by Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP with a team that included Bill Jenkins, Chima Nkemdirim and Toby Allan (securities), Karim Mahmud (oil and gas) and Derek Kurrant (tax); in the US and Europe by Herbert Smith LLP with a team that included Jim Wickenden, Adam Wells, Mark Tudor and Arit Ekpo; and in Nigeria by Adamu Usman of F.O. Akinrele & Co.